93842: He had intercourse with his wife, thinking that dawn had not yet broken

I had intercourse with my wife and I did not know that the adhaan for Fajr had already been given. I did not know that and I thought that the adhaan would be given a few minutes after five. After that I realized that the adhaan is given at quarter to five. What is the solution? Do I have to offer kafaarah, both me and my wife, knowing that we both did that willingly, and we had arrived from a journey 24 hours before and we did not yet know the timings of the prayer and we were taken by surprise when Ramadaan was announced the morning after our arrival?.

Published Date: 2006-10-23

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

If the matter is as you
describe, then you do not have to do anything, because the one who does
something that breaks the fast thinking that dawn has not yet broken, then
he finds out that it had broken, does not have to make it up, according to
the more correct of the two scholarly opinions, regardless of whether the
thing that breaks the fast is food, drink or intercourse.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: I have to point out that the things that
break the fast, intercourse, food and drink, only break a person’s fast if
three conditions are met:

1 – That he knows about
that. If he does not know then his fast is not broken, because Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And there is no sin on
you concerning that in which you made a mistake, except in regard to what
your hearts deliberately intend. And Allaah is Ever Oft‑Forgiving, Most
Merciful”

[al-Ahzaab 33:5]

“Our Lord! Punish us not
if we forget or fall into error”

[al-Baqarah 2:286]
and Allaah says: “I will do that.”

And the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “My ummah is forgiven for what it
does by mistake, forgets or is forced to do.” The one who is ignorant is
making a mistake, even if he knows what he is doing. If he does something
that breaks the fast out of ignorance, he does not have to do anything and
his fast is complete and valid, whether he was ignorant of the ruling or of
the time.

An example of being
ignorant of the ruling is if he consumes something that breaks the fast
thinking that it does not break the fast, such as if he is treated with
cupping, thinking that cupping does not break the fast. We say: Your fast is
valid and you do not have to do anything.

And example of being
ignorant of the time is if he thinks that dawn has not yet broken, so he
eats. His fast is valid.

2 – That he remembers that
he is fasting; if he forgets then it does not break the fast.

3 – That he does it
willingly. If he does not do it willingly then he does not break his fast.

End quote from Majmoo’
Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (19/280).

The Shaykh (may Allaah have
mercy on him) was asked: There is a man who is newly married and he had
intercourse with his wife at the end of the night, thinking that it was
still night, then the iqaamah was given. What do you think? Does he have to
do anything?

He replied: No, he does not
have to do anything; there is no sin on him and he does not have to offer
expiation or make up that day, because Allaah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“So now have sexual
relations with them and seek that which Allaah has ordained for you
(offspring), and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn
appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night)”

[al-Baqarah 2:187]

So these three things are
all the same: intimacy with one’s wife, eating and drinking, and there is no
evidence to suggest any distinction between them. They are all things that
are not allowed when fasting, and if they happen due to ignorance or
forgetfulness, it does not matter. End quote from al-Liqa’ al-Shahri.

Thus it is clear that you
do not have to do anything, you do not have to make up that fast or offer
expiation. This applies if you fasted on that day. But if you did not fast
thinking that the fast had been invalidated because of intercourse, then all
you have to do is make up that day.